4.1.5

CORE

Test yourself

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

CORE was established in 1942 by James Farmer.

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CORE

  • CORE was established in 1942 by James Farmer.
  • The leaders of CORE believed in non-violent resistance to segregation and held war-time sit-ins to protest against segregated restaurants.
  • In 1947, members took part in the ‘Journey of Reconciliation’ which saw them travel across state lines on buses testing the segregation laws on public transport.
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The Freedom Rides, 1961

  • After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation on public transport was unconstitutional. Members of CORE tested whether this ruling was being enforced in the Southern States.
  • The Freedom Riders travelled on buses across the country from one state to the next.
  • They were subject to discrimination and violence in several states.
  • In Birmingham, Alabama they were attacked by the KKK members with chains and clubs.
  • One bus that the freedom riders travelled on was firebombed as they departed and other buses were burned.
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Support for the freedom riders

  • The SNCC sent members to assist and join in the freedom rides.
    • In Jackson, Mississippi they were arrested for using the ‘white-only’ facilities.
  • The freedom rides gained mass publicity and showed how racist the Southern States were.
  • The then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy supported the Freedom Riders and tried to get the Supreme Court to rule that interstate segregated busses were unlawful.

Jump to other topics

1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77

2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890

3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41

4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68

5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09

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